Are your ducks in a row?

I had a boss in a job from 15 years ago who was not pleased with the job I was doing.

He often told me I had to ‘have all my ducks in a row.’

And I mean constantly.

I thought a lot about this and realized two things…

1. Nothing about my life was in any kind of straight row.

2. I was not likely to blindly follow a leader in any kind of row situation.

I knew, with regard to my job, I was screwed.

So boss man came up to me for the billionth time and repeated the ducks in a row crap. And I replied, “Ray, I am the duck that leaves the row, steps outside the box, and thinks accordingly.”

I thought this response was insanely clever.

Ray did not.

The year continued, and I attended administrative meetings, and offered opinions with regard to problems that needed solving. Out of the box opinions.

Silence. No response. He pretended I said nothing.

As it turns out, no amount of trying on my part prevented me from eventually losing my job.

But this was not the kind of situation where I lost my job immediately.

I had about a 2 month notice. So for 2 months I was a dead man walking.

One of my final assignments was to give a presentation to a very large group of school parents about the status of our school technology program.

And I did it. And baby, I was soooo outside the box. And the parents LOVED it, the teachers LOVED it, and the administrators LOVED it.

After the presentation, Ray walked up to me, with a completely disgusted face.

“That was a very good job”.Ray snarled.

I burst out laughing, never had I received such a wonderful compliment from a guy who hated giving it.

And you might think this asshole realized that there was a different way of thinking about things, and give me my job back.

That was not the case.

Now, have I learned my lesson today and arranged all my ducks in a row?

I invite you to read my 190 some posts on this site.

If you find a situation where ducks are even the same COLOR, let me know?

My ducks might get into a brawling row, but walk in a straight row, not a chance.

I am 65 years old, and as of this time, I can assure you that my ducks are in a permanent state of ‘not in a row ness’. And if I had the nerve, I would post a picture of my kitchen, and prove to you what I am talking about.